Gordon Lee wins a state cheerleading championship.
It was the year 2002, back before some of the current Gordon Lee High School competition cheerleaders were even old enough to walk, when the Navy-andWhite finished as the Class A state runner-up in Columbus.
Fourteen years later, they finally reached the top of the mountain.
For the first time in the program’s history, Gordon Lee captured a state cheerleading title as they stuck their routine to become the class of the Class A Public School field at the Columbus Civic Center.
After performing a nearly-flawless routine to win the sectional competition in Columbus last Saturday, Gordon Lee gave a repeat performance on Friday night. They finished with 266 points, outscoring Hawkinsville (242) for the top spot.
Five-time state champion Trion (213) was third, while nine-time state champion and threetime defending state champion Commerce (212) placed fourth. Lincoln County (183) and Schley County (182) rounded out the top six.
“I could not be more proud of these 20 young ladies who made Gordon Lee history!” said a happy head coach Mandy Sturdivant. “They set their minds to winning a state championship and worked until our last practice today to improve. Tonight they had the performance of the year and had their best score of the season when it all mattered.”
Sturdivant said winning sectionals last week gave her team extra motivation in the days leading up to Friday.
“We were more relaxed in warm-ups tonight than we’ve been, but we worked harder this week than we have all year,” she added. “We didn’t let up because we won last week.
“I’m certainly proud
“I could not be more proud of these 20 young ladies who made Gordon Lee history! They set their minds to winning a state championship and worked until our last practice today to improve. Tonight they had the performance of the year and had their best score of the season when it all mattered.” -- Gordon Lee head coach Mandy Sturdivant
for our nine seniors, but this was really a team effort. We had a bit of a rocky start to the season, but then things started to click and it clicked for everyone. All of them, seniors down to freshmen, were really driven. Today, 1111 (Nov. 11) was our goal and we did it.”
Senior Addison Whitman was one of 16 finalists for Cheerleader of the Year, but the award went to Gabby Dunlap of Union Grove.
The LaFayette cheerleaders also competed on Friday night in the Class 4A preliminaries, but did not make it into Saturday’s finals.
“We gave the best performance with a solid routine, but did not make top eight on Friday to advance to the finals,” head coach Nicole Harris said. “Still, I couldn’t be more proud of them. They did everything they could.”
Cedartown won the Class 4A title with 281 points, while Region 6 champion Heritage placed fifth (248).
Mt. Paran Christian won the Class A Private School Division with 276 points, edging out Hebron Christian (272). In Class 2A, Vidalia won with 259, while three Rome-area squads – Pepperell (248), Coosa (241) and Armuchee (239) took the next three spots. Pierce County (281) was crowned champion in Class 3A.
A close competition in Class 5A saw McIntosh (284) hold off Starr’s Mill (283) and Ola (279). Northgate (288) won by eight points over Cambridge in Class 6A, while Lambert (289) earned a one-point win over South Forsyth.
WoodlandCartersville won the Co-Ed Division with 282 points, while Johns Creek (280) was a close second.